A Virtual Universe (VU) is a computer-based simulated environment intended for its residents to traverse, inhabit, and interact with through the use of avatars. Many VUs are represented using 3-D graphics and landscapes, and are populated by many thousands of users, known as “residents.” Other terms for VUs include “metaverses”, “virtual world” “3D Internet” and “virtual environment.” Each of these terms are used interchangeably herein.
Often, the VU resembles the real world such as in terms of physics, houses (living space), and landscapes. Example VUs include: Second Life, Entropia Universe, The Sims Online, There, Red Light Center—as well as massively multiplayer online games such as EverQuest, Ultima Online, Lineage or World of Warcraft.
Various VU concepts are generally defined as follows.
An “avatar” is a graphical representation the user selects that others can see, often taking the form of a cartoon-like human. The user is sometimes referred to as the in-world camera operator or avatar controller, where “in-world” is relative to or within a given virtual universe.
An “agent” is the user's account, upon which the user can build an avatar, and which is tied to the inventory of assets the user owns.
A “region” is a virtual area of land within the VU, typically residing on a single server.
Technically speaking assets, avatars, the environment, and anything visual comprise respective UUIDs (universally unique identifiers—standard in the art) tied to (i) geometric data (distributed to users as textual coordinates), (ii) textures (distributed to users as graphics files such as JPEG2000 files), and (iii) effects data (rendered by the user's client according to the user's preferences and user's device capabilities).
Lastly, a “teleport offer” is an offer to instantaneously travel directly to a specific location.
Objects in a virtual universe are composed of one or more primitive objects such as cones, triangles and polygons. The more detailed an object is (i.e. the more primitive objects it is composed of) the longer the object will take to render and download. It is common for virtual world parcels to incorporate many objects in their design.
Various problems exist in virtual universes. For example, participation in a virtual universe requires a heavy weight client, server capacity and knowledge on how to operate in-world (i.e., in the virtual environment). A heavy weight client and required knowledge are barriers to entry for many people wishing to enter a virtual universe. The additional server capacity is costly for virtual universe operators. Methods are needed to reduce the barrier to entry for virtual universes.